


Greasy Trident

by Ononymous



Series: Undertale Anniversary Requests 2018 [13]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Post-Undertale Pacifist Route
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-07
Updated: 2018-12-07
Packaged: 2019-09-13 14:44:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16894581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ononymous/pseuds/Ononymous
Summary: After a long and difficult trial of wrangling people who believe their interests are just the most precious perfect thing and doesn't need corrected, and a parent-teacher conference, Asgore and Toriel haunt a late night diner. There's no energy for angst, they've been strip-mined of that, so they have to resort to secretive and supportive affection for each other. Probably a better move, all things considered, angst is overrated.





	Greasy Trident

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Doogly_Writes](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Doogly_Writes/gifts).



> Original some suggestion: I want a lil fic of torigorey enjoy a nice dinner together at a quaint lil diner

The graveyard shift had just begun. The cat swept yet more grime from under the booth nearest the door. Must have been a hell of a day. He was gonna have to talk to the manager about keeping up with the dirt that could build up during the day shift. It wasn't fair to offload it on guys like him. _We do more than clean up your mess, buddies._

To prove his point, the bell above the door jingled. The monster entering looked pretty inconspicuously dressed. It was undermined a little by him being two feet taller than the cat and having a mane of blond hair and mighty white horns rendering the clothing secondary as an identifying mark. Fortunately, generous tips were more cost-effective in procuring silence than a hoody you couldn't even raise the hood on, and this gentleman was perhaps the most generous.

"Howdy."

"Evenin', buddy. Over there's free. Tea?"

A few coins already changed hands. "Please."

His patron squeezed into the largest booth in the diner he had indicated, and exhaled a weary sigh. The cat mused he must have been just as busy as the day shift had been. As the tea brewed, he watched him fiddling with straws he could never hope to use properly, almost like a child. Before long, the bell jingled again, and a second inconspicuously dressed monster who was impossible not to recognise entered.

"Evenin', ma'am. Over there. Coffee?"

His discretion was guaranteed with a few more coins. "Please."

She joined the first customer of the evening, fitting more comfortably, and they wearily nuzzled their noses.

"This makes all the travelling worth it," said Asgore.

"And all the parents," agreed Toriel.

"Oh, I'd almost forgotten. Well, I presume my children performed adequately?"

She smiled. "For the most part. I told them at breakfast. No point prolonging the torture of waiting to find out how they're doing."

He sniffed in amusement. "So you are not without mercy."

She withheld a smile as a tease. "So I have been told. Ah, thank you."

The rival beverages were served. The pact of secrecy was further sealed as a reward. They took a moment to sweeten their drinks while the cat returned for their orders. He didn't need to prompt them.

"All-Night Breakfast, Extra Metta-Egg, over easy. Extra toast. Tori?"

"Another All-Night Breakfast, replace the sausageTon with hash blooks. Two extra Metta-Eggs, sunny side up. Add a crusty roll, please."

"No problem." He left to talk to the chef.

"So," said Toriel, "how was the summit?"

His large hand seesawed in a so-so gesture. "It's never the broad strokes with these things, it's always the details. If it were majority consensus I'd have been home yesterday, but there's always at least the appearance of unanimity required, and of course there's always a couple of people who know this and hold your feet to the fire to get what they want. And it's so hard to just sit there and let them have it."

She caressed his disheveled beard. "I shall not lie, Gorey, I am glad to be out of that game."

He chuckled. "Well someone has to play, I suppose. We can't rely on Frisk all the time. They deserve a childhood. But enough about diplomacy, Tori, how are things here?"

She mirrored his so-so appraisal. "Perhaps it is because Parent Night is always tiring, but that is how it feels. Like I said our children have performed well, though I am concerned Asriel relies more on rote learning than critical thought in his homework. It is a habit he needs to break. But organising two dozen other conversations to have with parents of varying willingness to accept what you say means I have not had time to go through it with him properly. And it does not help when everyone comes to my door in your absence for help around town."

Asgore grunted in empathetic annoyance. "But I made it clear. I make it clear every time. All problems of that manner go to Undyne in my absence. You've made it clear you have no desire to be Queen again, even if we do commit to each other and go public with what we are doing."

His beard earned a tender stroke. "I know. But I think they cannot shake the image. To many, it is inherent to me, something I can never put down. Oh, thank you sir."

Their meals had arrived. Service rendered, the cat returned to cleaning. Asgore began buttering his toast while Toriel added pepper to her bacon.

"This makes it all worthwhile," she said.

"The bacon?"

"Partly." Her posture lost all tension. "It is the moment, Gorey. You. I. Someone in absolute confidence. For a short time we can escape our concerns."

"I don't think you'd be happy if you abandoned your concerns entirely," he said wryly.

"Perhaps. But a break is always welcome." They leaned in for another nuzzle.

"Oh, your spectacles."

"Hmm?"

"Have you changed them?"

"Oh. I'd almost forgotten. On Tuesday I was running slightly late, and I was marking homework while walking to school, and another monster walked into me when I had stopped to cross the street. He did not even apologise, just walked on while staring into his phone, but the bump nudged my spectacles off and they smashed. I gave myself a headache squinting at the blackboard trying to read my own writing. Anyway, I visited Doctor Occule after school to get a new pair. Do they look silly?"

"Nothing looks silly on you, dear." He meant what he said, but there was doubt in his voice.

"What is troubling you, Gorey? Remember, communication."

He looked slightly uncomfortable at the gentle reproach. "It's silly of me but... your old glasses. I got them to you for Gyftmas. Before..."

Her copper-red eyes widened. "You did! I almost forgot, it was so long ago, and I never needed to change them..."

He nodded. "It is foolish of me, but a small part linked them to, well, happier times. It's ridiculous to say I'll miss them when for all intents and purposes what they represented is here, but still..."

On that uncertain note, they began eating in earnest, watching the occasional car go by out the window. Several other discretely dressed couples had entered while they waited on their food and were also enjoying a late night rendezvous, their mutual desire for secrecy leaving them comfortable in the other diners' presence, and the cat certain he could make rent this month. And maybe even order a pizza.

"It is ridiculous to me as well, Asgore," she said eventually.

"Beg pardon?"

"My spectacles... I thought of that Gyftmas too. Perhaps not as recently as you have, but..."

"But then... why are you not as upset as I was?"

"Because, Gorey. A man who sent himself on perhaps the most difficult and dangerous and foolish and idiotic path to attain wisdom explained it best to me." She laid her hand upon his, resting on the pink tabletop. "Change is inevitable. What we have today is not what we had yesterday is not what we will have tomorrow, even if on the surface nothing has changed. Enjoy it while we have it..." she pecked him on one of the few parts of beardless muzzle she could find. "...and enjoy the time we had with it."

A contented warmth settled in Asgore's chest. "Sounds like a wise man. I'll have to meet him."

"Oh, you will," she giggled. Their hands exchanged squeezes.

The meal concluded in better spirits, swapping more stories about their time apart. Neither felt in the mood to broach he big question of formally renewing their commitment. Everything else aside, that was a question considered after a good night's sleep. Eventually the cat came round with the check. Playful competition stole across both faces.

"At the summit, I had to fight hard against an amendment introduced by narrow business interests that would render much of the Treaty impotent in vast swathes of the world," said Asgore.

"I had to talk to Raffy Duck's parents about how he is failing maths," said Toriel.

He gave a sympathetic wince. "Okay, you win." He paid the bill, tipping the cat yet again for his prompt and low-profile service. Taking a moment to tidy up the booth somewhat - Toriel never liked leaving work for others - they made a conspicuously inconspicuous show of leaving the diner one at a time and heading in the respective directions of their houses. In the safety of the dark streets it wasn't long before they reunited, walking with no destination in mind, hand in hand, stealing a last few minutes of each other's company before surrendering to the siren call of their separate beds.

"Speaking of breaks," mused Toriel aloud, "we should go on one."

He looked over in mild surprise, but continued to smile. "Are you sure? That's hard to pull off without people catching on."

"Not if it were a family break. Asriel would obviously love if you came, even if we could only book twin rooms. Nobody would think twice about that."

Asgore nodded thoughtfully. "Well, Headmistress, I have only one condition before I consider your proposal."

Her smile twitched playfully. "Oh?"

"We push the beds together."

Their almost childish giggling wafted across the silent street, and put the cap on a very, very long day for both of them.

**Author's Note:**

> This story takes place at about the time of day I finished writing it. Also explains the name.
> 
> Pastebin version: https://pastebin.com/DbL7QZtT
> 
> Let me know what you think, and thanks for reading!


End file.
